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          UFC 292: Sean O'Malley dethrones Aljamain Sterling, Zhang Weili dominates in title defense

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          Sean O'Malley KOs Aljamain Sterling to claim bantamweight title (0:34)

          Sean O'Malley takes advantage of a lunge from Aljamain Sterling to lay down a vicious counter, knocking out Sterling and claiming the bantamweight world title at UFC 292. (0:34)

          • Marc Raimondi
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            Marc Raimondi
            ESPN Staff Writer
              Marc Raimondi's first year covering the Falcons was 2024, but it wasn't his first year at ESPN. He joined the company in 2019 and was a top combat sports reporter. He also covered professional wrestling and wrote the book "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. Raimondi also worked for the New York Post and Newsday, beginning in 2009, covering high school and college sports, plus the NFL, NFL, MLB and NHL.
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          • Brett Okamoto
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            Brett Okamoto
            ESPN Staff Writer
              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          Aug 20, 2023, 01:31 AM ET

          BOSTON -- Two champions came to Boston for UFC 292, but only one would leave with their belt.

          Sean O'Malley earned his superstar moment with one vicious counter right hand, as he caught Aljamain Sterling square to send him to the canvas. After some ground-and-pound and a referee's stoppage, we have a new bantamweight champion. O'Malley landed 71% of his significant strikes against Sterling, moving his UFC bantamweight record for significant striking accuracy to 61.2%. Sterling's nine-fight winning streak is snapped with the loss.

          In the co-main event, Zhang Weili dominated in her first title defense against Amanda Lemos with a resounding unanimous decision victory. Zhang outlanded Lemos 163-24 in significant strikes. Her +139 significant strike differential is second highest in a UFC women's fight.

          Earlier on the card, the UFC crowned two new champions of "The Ultimate Fighter," as Kurt Holobaugh and Brad Katona earned contracts with the promotion on Saturday.

          Here's how Marc Raimondi, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim saw all the action in Boston: